Forgetting your Self is the greatest injury; all the calamities flow from it. Take care of the most important, the lesser will take care of itself. You do not tidy up a dark room. You open the windows first. Letting in the light makes everything easy. So, let us wait with improving others until we have seen ourselves as we are – and have changed. There is no need to turn around and around in endless questioning; find yourself and everything will fall into its proper place. ~ Nisargadatta

Our actions and their consequences are influenced by these obstacles. The consequences may or may not be evident at the time of the action. ~ T K V Desikachar

Obstacles based in mind and body, all actions emanate from them. Actions initiated from dominant obstacles result in undesirable results. Obstacles based on misapprehension, mistake what we see, conclusion drawn from that = incorrect. ~ T K V Desikachar

kleśa: impediments, afflictions

mūlaḥ: root

karma: actions

āśayaḥ: deposit, stock

ḍṛṣta: seen

adṛṣṭa: unseen

janma: birth

vedanīyaḥ: is experienced

Deposit/stock of karma produced from desire greed delusion anger (Gita)* Desire = greed = attachment, flip side aversion stems from ego and ignorance. * Anger is the frustration of desire or attachment. *Delusion is a manifestation of ignorance.

Karma good and bad can bear fruit in this life.

Good or bad all karma is imprinted or stored as samskāra in the citta and may manifest its fruits in either this life or the next.

Fruits of karma have kleśas as their root. It is these kleśas that influence one to act in good or bad ways. Therefore, vicious cycle. Kleśas provoke karma and karma fuels the kleśas.

Unless! “those who dedicate their desire, anger, fear, affection, sense of identity and friendship to that which they regard higher than themselves, the ‘devine’ enter for certain into that state of being.

Laws of karma apply only when they are performed out of ego = Patañjali defines as confounding the true puruṣa self with the mind and body.

Any state of mind leaves an imprint of itself on the citta and, as we know, this imprint is called samskāra. Imprints of good and bad karma produce an accumulation of samskāra called the karmāśaya, or stock of karma. These samskāras are either born from the kleśas, or are not: Those produced out of ignorance are born from the kleśas, but those resulting from true understanding are not (ch1y50). It is the former category of samskāras born from the kleśas, whether pious, impious or mixed in nature, that produces the store of karma, the karmāśaya. This store of karma then fructifies and brings about the threefold conditions of one’s life that are subject of the next sūtra ch2y13. The time it takes for the seeds of karma to fructify – whether in this life or a future one – depends on the intensity of the original samskāra.

Paul Harvey ~ “When seeking the power of the light, take care lest we forget the power of our roots.”

The whole point of yoga is to contain mental activity. We use āsana to begin training the mind, in groups there is too much distraction, causing mental affliction (kleśas). Yoga is to be practised in private, by one’s self, in the same place and at the same time every day, creating a sacred place and time, and commitment to the relationship with yoga. Then, the student can begin the journey of studying themselves.

To respect the integrity of the chant and it’s purpose, correct pronunciation of text and knowing how I sound is the essence of recitation. Means one has to learn one to one from an experienced teacher and then practice in solitude, rather than follow a group. Mind is then focused, and one’s path takes on a whole new meaning towards the material and spiritual crossover. I am something else other than this body, I can feel that I am energy without having to expel energy and I feel a faith, not faith towards a religion but a faith in what it is that is drawing me towards this journey and liberation. I am yoga.

I’ve had a couple of campers in the past, when the last one had to go to the scrap yard, I was gutted. When hubby agreed and offered without hesitation to convert our little work van into a sleeper I was ecstatic. Not only was this going to help me financially with my studies but the experiences of van-living each study weekend, will become an integral part of my journey. Read the rest of this entry »

From today I’m going to record the things I notice with regards, which of the 3 gunas, that dominate my daily existence and cause me disruption.

What I’ve grasped from the weekend study with my teacher, is that establishing one’s dominant gunas is relevant to self inquiry but what’s more important, is being able to observe the changes that are inevitable, as early as possible. Being as self aware as possible can give way to preparation for personal transformation and can act as a prevention or alleviate disturbance to maintain physical health and mental harmony.

Finding it hard to focus the mind at present, but that isn’t going to stop me from practice. It’s days like these that it’s more relevant to the commitment to this path, than when the mind is less chaotic and the days are chilled. I’m beginning to grasp how much the mind does not like, not being in control of my attention. I beginning to know you mind, I’m beginning to understand that you are not my friend.